Battle of the radlers – Stiegl vs. Schöfferhofer

Thursday

Sep 5, 2013 at 6:06 PMSep 5, 2013 at 9:28 PM

If you follow me on Twitter, you may know that I have had a recent obsession with the Stiegl grapefruit radler. I have had a lot of it to drink.

But recently, I tried something different, the Schöfferhofer Grapefruit Hefeweizen, which is also a radler made with grapefruit. I only have so much space in my fridge for radlers, so I need to make a choice on which one to buy.

So, this past weekend, I decided to do a side-by-side tasting of the two beverages.

For those who do not know, a radler is German beer cocktail that blends a beer and some sort of fruit soda, typically lemon. In this version, both of them use grapefruit flavoring.

First, I had the Schofferhofer Grapefruit Hefeweizen. The drink is a mixture of its regular hefeweizen an grapefruit flavoring. It comes in at a low 2.5 percent ABV, and a bright orange color.

Tastewise, it’s sweet, but refreshing. It’s easy to drink down, and on a hot day, you can’t go wrong with the Schöfferhofer. It has a definite juicy flavor, with the carbonation not being at the same level as a typical hefeweizen.

Next is the Stiegl grapefruit radler, which is their Goldbrau lager blended with grapefruit soda.

This beer also comes in at 2.5 percent ABV, but it has more heft to it. The carbonation level is higher, and the flavor is more beer like. It definitely has a soft drink quality to it, as well.

Just like the Schöfferhofer, the Stiegl is refreshing, if not more so. The flavor has a more “real” quality to it. It tastes like real grapefruit, while the Schöfferhofer tastes more like grapefruit candy.

If I had to choose, I’d probably pick the Stiegl, but you really can’t go wrong with either.

Norman Miller

If you follow me on Twitter, you may know that I have had a recent obsession with the Stiegl grapefruit radler. I have had a lot of it to drink.

But recently, I tried something different, the Schöfferhofer Grapefruit Hefeweizen, which is also a radler made with grapefruit. I only have so much space in my fridge for radlers, so I need to make a choice on which one to buy.

So, this past weekend, I decided to do a side-by-side tasting of the two beverages.

For those who do not know, a radler is German beer cocktail that blends a beer and some sort of fruit soda, typically lemon. In this version, both of them use grapefruit flavoring.

First, I had the Schofferhofer Grapefruit Hefeweizen. The drink is a mixture of its regular hefeweizen an grapefruit flavoring. It comes in at a low 2.5 percent ABV, and a bright orange color.

Tastewise, it’s sweet, but refreshing. It’s easy to drink down, and on a hot day, you can’t go wrong with the Schöfferhofer. It has a definite juicy flavor, with the carbonation not being at the same level as a typical hefeweizen.

Next is the Stiegl grapefruit radler, which is their Goldbrau lager blended with grapefruit soda.

This beer also comes in at 2.5 percent ABV, but it has more heft to it. The carbonation level is higher, and the flavor is more beer like. It definitely has a soft drink quality to it, as well.

Just like the Schöfferhofer, the Stiegl is refreshing, if not more so. The flavor has a more “real” quality to it. It tastes like real grapefruit, while the Schöfferhofer tastes more like grapefruit candy.

If I had to choose, I’d probably pick the Stiegl, but you really can’t go wrong with either.

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